Withdrawals

I am currently taking an extra class on top of a full schedule. One is APCSP (computer Science principles) and the other is IB Spanish 5. Both are very hard to keep up in, and the teacher for AP CSP only grades below a 5 (I got 14/15 on a project, which is an A, but in the online grades it says I got 2/3, which is a D) I am also taking the IB world language test later one. If I withdraw from apcsp, will that look bad to USAFA that I give up?

Don’t know how USAFA will see your withdrawal from a challenging class.

But this much I know: Academics are very challenging. The course load and time demands are very tough. The curriculum is highly prescribed. And you cannot withdraw from your classes. In other words, you cannot give up and expect to proceed smoothly to commissioning.

One other option is if the school allows you to drop down to high school level comp sci. Rather than to abort a class it is better to keep it at a level you can better manage. You still do comp sci but now at the high school level. Go talk to your teacher and GC.

Not sure about the language. It depends on your school graduation requirement. I know Academies have language requirements for non STEM Majors. You may also place out of language if you pass IB or AP Spanish in your case. Again talk to your GC and Spanish teacher. You just finished Q1. You have Q2 to start clean. And Q3, Q4. A lot of time to improve IMHO.

Very true that it may be inconsequential to the application. There may be enough positive to offset this potential setback.

That said, one who wants to attend an SA needs to learn to suck it up, gut it out, push through (insert your favorite cliche here). SA life is demanding and challenging. It is designed to make you fail in some way, so that you learn how to bounce back. So it stands to reason that starting to develop this mindset in high school would be a very good thing. Quitting becomes easier once you start doing it.

I think the advice is well meaning but is going to an extreme. Yes, you should take the most challenging schedule available to you but not taking or dropping ONE class through your four years will have little impact on how your application is scored as long as everything else is strong. You are still 16 or 17 and learning how to learn in school.